Chew Joo Chiat 周如切 is my great grand-father. My family tree in Singapore begins with him. The purpose of this blog is for my children and grand children to know their root's humble beginning. Secondly, there are inaccuracies and gaps I discovered published in books, articles and websites about Chew Joo Chiat. I also want to talk about some lost landmarks in Joo Chiat.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Rediffusion Talk Show SG50

Rediffusion on its SG50 celebration will
film a collection of 25 stories shared by the nation’s pioneers through interviews at the talkshows. The program will
be filmed at 7 community centres. At
each talkshow pioneers would share their personal stories during the last 50
years.

On Saturday 14 March 2015 the talkshow was
held at Joo Chiat Community Centre Theatrette. The Theme -我最喜欢的广播员和节. I was one of the pioneer generation paticipants
and also a past Joo Chiat residents.

It had an audience of about 80 people. The
show started with a brief history of Rediffusion given by Ms Eeva Chang Mei
Hsiang, a former Rediffusion DJ who bought over the Rediffusion.

Ms Eeva Chang Mei Hsiang

Pioneer Generation Participants

Interviewed by Ms Eeva Chang

Audience at the show

Each participant
shared their nostalgic story. Some was quite emotional. The lighter part was singing
old favourite in English as well as in Chinese such as “It’s Now Or Never” by Elvis Presley and a
Hokien Song 望春風.

I talked about the Rediffusion in Joo Chiat. In the
1950s Rediffusion arrived in Joo Chiat.
Most houses had a Rediffusion voice box including the attap huts kamong behind
my house. Rediffusion had only 2 radio
channel. Turn the knob left or right for English or Chinese which included
Chinese dialects. My uncle liked Chinese songs and I listened to English songs.
Sometimes our timing clashed. But when it came to Ong Toh’s action packed story
we had a common interest. The kungfu story was very captivating. Whenever it
was Ong Toh story time, I took down the Rediffusion box hung on the wall to the
table top for closer listening for I did not want to miss any part of his story.

Listening to Rediffusion's Ong Toh's story

I also shared about the hawker food in Joo
Chiat.

Tau Kua Pow The
best ‘tau kua pow’ was not at Joo Chiat Road/East Coast Road junction coffee
shop (now Alibaba). It was at a small coffee shop opposite Joo Chiat market
(now Joo Chiat Complex). The secret for good ‘tua kua pow’ is in the sauce.

Katong
Laksa The hawker who was selling Katong laksa known as ‘jangok’ because he had a few strands
of hair on his chin. The name Katong laksa was not coined by him. His customer
gave the name for easy reference. He was an intinerant hawker selling laksa in Joo
Chiat, Marine Parade and finally he found a place on the 5 foot way of a coffee shop at
the corner of East Coast Road/Ceylon Road. His customers loved his laksa and
was referred by words of mouth as ‘Katong laksa’. Jangok was a squatter on our land at Tembeling
Road. He carried his laksa stall on a bamboo pole. On one side was a charcoal
stove with a pot of laksa gravy on top. On the side was the cockery, laksa
noodles, etc. In early 1970s The Ministry of the Environment wanted to clear
all itinerant hawkers in Singapore.His hawker stall was affected. The coffee shop owner saw the benefit of a popular laksa stall in
his shop and rented a small space next to a pillar for him to continue his
trade. Today Katong laksa is found in many parts of Singapore.

Objective of the project:

Commemorate 50 years of Singapore through the stories shared by the nation's pioneers.

Allow younger generations to rediscover the history and heritage of Singapore.

7 comments:

I am preparing a blog post about old houses in Singapore and researching about Joo Chiat Road, and came across your blog. I am very impressed by how you use pictures and words to record the memories and history of your family, and the information will become a reference for the young generations. Please keep it up!

Hi..uncle mr chewI already finish reading your blog >_< ..it is really amazing!!although i just meet you for awhile but glad to know you, uncle..if you have time,come to jusco bukit indah, jb again.. if i had my transport..i can give you a ride..

Hi Mr Chew,I'm also a Ong Toh's fan in my younger days. I missed his story telling especially in Hokkien. I remembered there was also a boardcast of his story telling in the afternoon at about 4.30pm. I wish I can get a chance to listen to his story telling again. It will be fun.